Can anybody give me some opinions or experience with either of these. Information is pretty thin on the Wibbly Wobbly Web. A big selling point of the datatool is that it doesn't store your speed, but it looks like thats a setting you can just turn off on the BikeTrac anyhow.
I can only comment on biketrac as I've not used datatool. Biketrac is (IMHO) an excellent service and system. You're right in that you can turn off the speed via a tick box (if you have it on it shows your speed at various points on the journey rather than a live stream) but the big thing for me is being able to see where the bike is all the time. Looking back over your journey is a bit of a novelty (unless you're going to be touring with it). It also sends you a message to let you know the battery voltage is getting low which I like. I just paid the subscription and forgot about it. Nice to know it's there should the bike ever go walkies. Apparently most crims these days stash a bike for a couple of days to see if it's got a tracker then come back if no one's gone and picked it up.
I'm on biketrac too. I've done some silly speeds and they don't go reporting it to anyone. Had a colleague on pillion and we ramped up the speed on a closed, private road [emoji6] and it was quite fun looking back at our speed. I do use mine to look back at journeys quite a lot as I can claim mileage when using the bike for work. I tend to forget where I've been over the month so it's great for me. Not had to test the theft side of things though but having had my previous bike stolen, this tracker is staying on every bike I own. It does give me confidence (as do the cameras on my property, the ground anchor, the chain/lock, the locked garage and my crowbar/whacking implement).
BikeTrac all day long. Fitted my first 6 or 7 years ago, done plenty since and had no problems with any of them. It's also a transferable unit if you move the bike on. Just need a new connection lead. Ducati UK approved to
Just a thought.....has anyone heard anything good about Datatool alarms? I've only ever heard of them being a nightmare. Don't know if this does or indeed should reflect on any tracking device they make
I currently have BikeTrac. Had a few false alarms, just me moving it forgetting to turn on the key, but they are right on the phone to ask if it has been stolen. I'm having an issue that the movement sensor will not disarm when key is on. Getting looked at by the dealer, but so far I can say that their telephone customer service has been very good, and they have been very helpful. definitely has not put me off.
In my experience most non-OEM alarms are not unreliable in themselves, it's the requirement to connect into the wiring loom in various circuits that is the weak point. Only one needs to be badly done and the thing may become an unreliable nightmare. It's not just the splicing into the existing loom, it's the bending of the wires on the alarm's own loom during fitting that can cause issues if not done carefully. Fancy a bike that slowly developed the habit of cutting its fuel when you go round left hand corners, but not rights? I had that on a Fireblade with a Datatool alarm. It was professionally fitted, but during fitting one of the wires in the loom had snapped leaving the ends touching. The wire concerned was in the fuel pump circuit... On a different Fireblade with another Datatool alarm in the middle of Spain where the alarm couldn't be disabled with the bike on the side stand, only with the bike upright and then it was still a bitch... That one turned out to be a fractured 15p fuse in the alarm's power circuit. The ends separated when the bike was lent over on its side stand, but touched again (most of the time) when the bike was upright. In this particular installation, the alarm was wired into the starter switch circuit, so once you managed to start the bike all was ok until the next fuel stop... Trackers are very much less prone to this because all they require is a switched and unswitched power supply and a ground.
I have had a BikeTrac fitted to my Multistrada from new 4 years ago. Performance has been absolutely reliable and the guys in the monitoring centre are very attentive. There was no question about fitting a second unit to the 1098R when it arrived a couple of weeks ago. Costing me £600 every 3 years against a combined value of the bikes in excess of £25000. With the peace of mind, it's a no brainer. Andy
Thanks for the replies guys. I'll take a closer look at the specs of each. I had decided on the Datatool Trakking due to the speed thing but it doesn't sound as much trouble as it could be. ps - I don't want to go on an alarm tangent, I've read some of the threads!
Just having had a quick glance, the Datatool one only states GPS and mobile signal tracking whereas the Biketrac also has RF for if that fails. RF is also what the police use to locate them and can be more accurate at closer ranges (I.e which garage is it hiding in). Also Biketrac is thatcham 6&7 whereas the Datatool only states 6
Also, don't be sold on bike down alerts. They don't work and constantly gave my wife false alerts and not even when cranked over (had a fair few just tootling along the motorway). I turned those off pronto!
I'm guessing it works on a tilt sensor in the unit. Could it be that it's been installed at an angle do you think?
I'll get home and she'll probably be on hold with the life insurance :tearsofjoy: What you say about it being installed at an angle sound plausible. It would be nice if it told you the trigger angle in the alert.
Lo and behold, first ride after turning bike down alerts back on and apparently I'm sprawled across the M20. Didn't feel a thing! I think I'll turn it off again. Not even a phone call from the wife though. Easier to just tell her to call the tracking people if I don't make it home when expected. That'd solve the issue of my possibly laying in a field somewhere.
